Thied to william wallace pateick



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No. 333,948. latent'ed Jan. 5, 1886.l

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INVENTOR ATTORNEYS. I

llPatented Jan. 5, 1886.v

No Model) WITNESSES Museu-Sheena C. HOWARD.

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SNOW PLOW.

No. 383,948. Patented-Jan. 5, 1886.v

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C. HOWARD.

SNOW PLOW.

No. 333,948. y Patented Jan. 5, 1886.

WITNESSES UNTTEE STATES PATENT `EETCEO OYRUS HOVARD, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- THIRD TO WILLIAM WALLACE PATRICK, OF SAME PLAGE.

PLOW.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 333,948, dated January 5, 1886.

Application filed May 12, 1885. Serial N0. 165,279.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, OYRUs HOWARD, acitizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Snow-Plows, of which the following is a description.

This invention relates to that class of snowplows which are designed to clear snow from railways; and its object is to throw the snow off to one side on levels and in cuts or in very deep drifts of snow, to first remove the snow from the road-bed, and then to compact the snow at the sides of the road, so as to form inclines down which the snow may slide, then toraisethesnowonto theseinclines,and,inally, to receive the snow into open cars as it slides down the said inclines toward the road, and` to remove the snow in car-loads by withdrawing from the cut and dumping it at any convenient point.

To this end my invention consists in the construction and combination of parts forming a snow-plow, hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a side elevation of my snow-plow.

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is an end view of an attendant car, which is a necessary portion of my snowplow; and Fig. 5 is a plan view of the plow and a train of cars adapted for it.

A represents the frame of the snow-plow, which frame may be a common box freightcar, to inclose a boiler and one or two engines. The excavating device of the plow is built out on one end ofthe car for use in regions where the snow does not fall more than two or three feet deep; but where the snows are deeply drifted and heavy, as in cuts in mountains, I provide both ends of the car with plows-one to remove what the other leaves on the road.

As the plows on the two ends of a car are duplicates of each other in nearly all respects, a description of one will answer for both, except in certain details hereinafter described.

B represents a series of scoops formed into a continuous belt by being mounted on two (No model.)

endless chains, C,which are caused to revolve and are guided to the desired path by rtinning over any usual sprocket-wheels, D D D2 D3, which are revolved by the engine in the snow-plow. l

E represents the rails of the road, and F the roadbed.

The chain travels from wheel D3 to wheel D in a line parallel with the road-bed, carrying the scoops across the bed. Each scoop is hung to the chains at the upper edge of its back by a loose or pivotal connection, G, and is provided with a central shoe or roller, H, near the lower edge of its back,to slide or roll upon a central rail, J, whereby the slant or pitch of the scoop is controlled throughout its circuit. It is expected that the scoop may be carried in nearly a vertical position, with its edge downward, to the best advantage while scraping snow across the road, and the guiderail along this locality must support the upward thrust of the rear side of the scoop, caused by the resistance of the snow against the advancing edge of the scoop. The scoops are kept from falling forward by a stay rope or chain, C', as described in my former patent, and the difference between the tensions of the drive-chains C and this stay-chain C may be accommodated by interposing springs G2 between the chain O and each scoop, as claimed in another application of this date. In passing around the wheel D the edge of the scoop will travel through au arc, K L, more than twice the distance traveled by the back of the scoop in the same time, thus giving the edge of the scoop a sudden throw as it passes upward. In case the snow is not deep, this throw will pitch it far away from the track. This feature is claimed in an application for an excavator, of even date herewith. In cuts nearly filled with snow each scoop will carry its load up to the wheel D', where it receives another throw, discharging the snow upward in the air. The snow thus thrown up will temporarily lodge on the adjacent snow-bank, which inclines toward the road, and somewhat upon the roof of the snowplow car. Directly in the rear of the plowcar, and attached thereto, I provide one or more dump'cars (see Fig. 4) having inclined sides, M, extending beyond the line of travel of the sides of common cars by a few inches, to receive the snow which has been thrown up by the plow as the snow slides down the inclines described. Thus any convenient number of cars may be filled, and 'if the cut is not passed before the dump-cars are filled the train may back out and dump the snow at any convenient point, and then again penetrate the drifts.

The metallic-plate sides and bottoms of adjacent cars overlap each other, and there are no ends, except to the end cars. Thus the train is practically one car, so that no snow can be lost between cars. The whole train is dumped at once.

The plow-engines should be run all the time at a given speed sufficient to throw the snow as the scoops pass the rollers, while the train should advance at any speed from two to thirty miles an hour, in proportion as the snow is heavy or light.

Between the wheels D3 and D the line of the rails J is tangent to said wheels, coinciding with the path of the chain C, in order that the scoop may be carried in a vertical position. as before described, said position being nearly at right angles to the chain; but on passing the wheel D the track J is located back at some distance within the path of the chain, allowing the scoops to incline rearward sufficiently to allow the snow to slide out of them at any point between D and D where the depth of the snow on the ground will permit the scoops to empty themselves.' This position of the rail J relative to the wheel D causes the scoops to recelve the throw at the instant of striking the said wheel, so that any snow left in the scoops at that point will be thrown more outward than upward.

In order that the track may be well cleared of loose snow that may escape from the scoops, I x ascraper, N, consisting of a plate of iron, in. avertical position directly behind the path ot the scoops. The lower edge of this scraper runs a little above the rails E, and rises a considerable distance across the center of the road-bed in the most approved form for leaving the ice-bed that will be formed in course of the winter. Plows O and brushes l? may be used to clear the rails.

A principal feature of my invention is the means for compactin g the snow in cuts to form permanent walls slanted, as shown at Q, so that in future snows the plow has a trough to run in, enabling it to readily clear the track. To this end Ijournal a heavy roller, R, on an arm, S, which is pivoted at T, near the trans` verse center of the car, to swing out at the side of the car nearly to the wall of the cut beside the road. By means of this roller all the snow which is carried to the side by the scoops in a snow-fall of one foot will be co1npacted into a solid bank nearly as hard as ice and only about one foot high. 'Io aid in compacting very dry snow, I provide one or more nozzles, U, to direct steam or hot water from the boiler into the snow-bank. Snow thus dampened will press down into one-eighth of its normal bulk. These rollers will continue to act on succeeding snows until a height of seven or eight feet is attained by the compacted snow wall, whereby Athe 4snows of a whole winter mayin some regions be stored along the road in the cuts, and never require to be removed therefrom until spring slowly thawsit out; and in regions where there are many heavy falls ofsnow in each winter the walls of the rst snows may be thus compacted and serve as guides to slide the succeeding snows into the dump-cars followingaftertheelevating-scoops. YVhen a plow is provided with scoops at each end, the scraper N is not needed,except behind the rear scoops. On single-track roads the forward scoops may deliver at one side of the track and the rear scoops at the other side. The roller here described would be of service in connection with any plow which would move the snow from the road-bed to one side thereof.

V represents a snow-guard attached across the front end of the plow and slanting backward, .to drive into a bank of deep snow and slide the snow that falls on it back under the scoops. Otherwise the whole front end ofthe car or plow would butt against the snow-bank. Where the car is provided with two sets of scoops, it may advance twice as fast as the forward set can clear the track, leaving what falls under the plow-car to be cleared off by the rear scoops, the scraper N beinglocated behind the rear scoops. The location of the wheels D D D2 D3 guides the scoop-chains in arhomboidal path.

The wheel D2 might be dispensed with; but I prefer to use it, as giving better direction to the scoops.

The roller R might be journaled in a sash to rise vertically or at any desired angle beside the plow-car. The axle of the roller is here shown as retained inv a vertical plane transverse to the car by side guides, R.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

' l. rIhe combination, with a railway-car, of a series of scoops pivoted on-chains mounted on rollers journaled in bearings in the car, which bearings are nearly parallel with the line of the car, the lower two of the said rollers being located near the sides of the car and the next roller in theline of travel of the chain located above and farther out than the vertical plane of the lower roller on the delivery side of the car, and means for revolving the chains, substantially as shown and described, whereby the car advancing in snow will scrape the snow across the road and form a slanting bank at the side thereof, as specified.

2. The combination of a car, a series of scoops, chains therefor, wheels for the chains and scoops to run on transversely to the car,

IOO

IIO

and a scraper fixed vertically across the car to the rear of the scoops,substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination of a car,a series of scoops pivoted at their upper rear edges on chains, wheels to carry the chains, journaled on the car at the angles of a rhomboid, one of whose sides is parallel with the road-bed, and one of whose opposite angles extends over the side of the car, studs or rollers projecting from the sides of the scoops below their pivotal points and near their rear sides, and guide-rails for the rollers attached to the car in planes 'parallel with the said chains, substantially as shown and described.

4. The combination ofthe wheels D D DI D3, journaled longitudinally in a car,the Wheel D being above the Wheel D and outside of the vertical plane thereof, chains C, mounted on the said wheels, snow-scoops B, pivoted at their upper rear edges to the chains, shoes or rollers H on the rear sides of the scoops below their pivots and near their lower edges, and the guide-railsJ, iixed belowthepath ofthe chains from D3 to D and fixed within the path ofthe chains from D to D', substantially as shown and described, whereby the scoops are held at right angles to the chainswhile gathering snow, and whereby the said scoops are permitted to slant backward from D to D', for the purpose of discharging the snow, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination, with a car and means, substantially as described, for moving snow to one side thereof, of a roller j ournaled beside the car on an axis projecting laterally therefrom and guides for the axis to rise and fall in, substantially as shown and described.

6. rIhe combination of a car, an aXle projecting over the side thereof transversely thereto, a pivot for the axle parallel with the body of the car, and a roller j ournaled on the projecting end of the axle, substantially as shown and described, whereby the said roller may be rolled upon snow and be permitted to rise and fall over an uneven path, as set forth.

7. The combination, in arailway snow-plow, of a snow-elevator, substantially as described, and a car attached to the rear of the elevator, provided with inward-slanting sides which project at their upper edges beyond the line of travel of car-bodies, substantially as shown and described.

8. The combinatiomina railway snow-plow, of a snow-elevator, substantially as described, and a series of cars attached to the rear thereof, each car being provided with inwardslanting sides which project at their tops, the sides and bottoms of adjacent cars overlapping each other, substantially as shown and described.

The above specication of my invention signed by me in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

C. HOVARD.

Vitnesses:

W. X. STEVENS, SoLoN C. KEMON. 

